SEOUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial output logged the first fall in five months, with facility investment and construction sliding last month, statistical office data showed Tuesday.
The seasonally-adjusted production index in all industries, which exclude the agriculture, livestock and fishery sector, declined 2.1 percent in March from a month earlier after expanding for the past four months, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest decrease since February 2020.
Production among manufacturers dipped 3.5 percent in March on a monthly basis after growing 3.0 percent in the previous month.
Output in electronic parts and electric equipment retreated more than 7 percent last month.
The ratio of inventory to shipment in the manufacturing industry went up 1.4 percentage points over the month to 111.6 percent in March.
Manufacturers recorded an average capacity ratio of 71.3 percent in March, down 3.2 percentage points compared to the previous month.
Production in the construction industry tumbled 8.7 percent, while output in the public administration sector shrank 1.6 percent last month.
Output in the service industry decreased 0.8 percent in March, turning downward from an expansion of 0.5 percent in the previous month.
The seasonally-adjusted retail sale index, which reflects private consumption, advanced 1.6 percent in March from a month earlier after dropping 3.0 percent in the prior month.
Facility investment plunged 6.6 percent last month, posting the fastest reduction in eight months on weaker demand for machinery and transport equipment.
Completed construction dived 8.7 percent in March on a monthly basis, reflecting the real estate market slump.
The cyclical variation factor for leading economic indicators, which gauges the outlook for future economic situations, slipped 0.2 points to 100.3 in March compared to the previous month.
The reading for coincident economic indicators, which measures the current economic condition, fell 0.3 points to 99.6 in the cited month. ■
